By Brandie Piper
ST. LOUIS – Police have identified the suspect shot and killed by officers Wednesday night in north St. Louis.
Isaac Holmes, 19, was killed after police say he pointed an INTRATEC 9mm gun at officers as he got out of a stolen Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
A spokesperson for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department says officers were conducting hot spot patrolling near the 4600 block of Cottage Avenue when they saw the Monte Carlo make an illegal turn. When the officers turned their patrol vehicle around to conduct a traffic stop, they say the suspects sped away.
The officers called for backup, and the Monte Carlo was spotted near the intersection of Cottage and Marcus avenues. Officers got behind the car, which turned into an alley in the 4600 block of Cottage and hit a retaining wall, causing the car to roll backward and bump the patrol car.
Police say Holmes got out of the passenger side of the vehicle armed with the INTRATEC 9mm gun equipped with a high-capacity magazine. Officers say they yelled at Holmes to drop his weapon, but he refused to comply. The officers, identified as a 29-year-old male with 7.2 years of service and a 35-year-old male with 8.4 years of service, feared for their safety and opened fire. During an interview, Chief Sam Dotson said he wasn’t sure how many shots were fired.
Holmes was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. No officers were injured.
The driver of the Monte Carlo, a 19-year-old male, remained in the car and was taken into custody without incident. Police say he is cooperating with the investigation.
The INTRATEC 9mm gun was recovered at the scene. Police say the gun was purchased in De Soto, Missouri in 2002. The weapon was not purchased by Holmes, but police say it was not reported stolen.
Police say the Monte Carlo was reported stolen on Dec. 5 from a south city neighborhood. Both Holmes and the driver of the vehicle have criminal records, police say.
The newly-formed Force Investigative Unit is investigating the shooting. The unit was created to review officers’ use of force after a knife-wielding man was shot and killed by police two months after the death of Michael Brown. Dotson says the unit will reconstruct the scene, interview witnesses, and look for any video that may have captured the incident. An internal review and an investigation by the circuit attorney’s office will follow.
NewsChannel 5’s Alexandra Martellaro contributed to this report.
Brandie Piper 